How Well Do You Know Your Children?

[W]endy Thomas, daughter of Dave Thomas, a workaholic and founder of Wendy’s Old-Fashioned Hamburgers, once said she wasn’t sure if her dad knew where she attended high school. This isn’t an indictment against Mr. Thomas’s parenting skills, although one has to believe his wife took the lion’s share of the child-rearing tasks while he oversaw the making of hamburgers. However, they apparently made the arrangement work.

That’s good, too. Because Mr. Thomas might not have fared well in a child custody case. How well do you know your children?

If you want custody of your children, you need to know about them, about their lives, and those personal aspects that make you an appealing parent. Judges know nothing about you, and if they quiz you on your child, and you can’t answer those questions, it will not bode well for you gaining custody.

What follows is a handful of sample questions a judge might ask you to find out how much you know about your child.

How Well Do You Know Your Children Quiz:

When is Johnny’s birthday? It’s amazing how many parents don’t know that.

What is Sally’s favorite subject in school? (With Dave Thomas in mind, do you know the name of the school?)

What color are Johnny’s eyes?

What is Julie’s shoe size?

What is Billy’s favorite television show or movie? What about a favorite video game?

What was Mary’s favorite family trip?

What was Chris’s favorite Christmas present?

Who is Jill’s best friend? How much do you know about that friend?

What is Shawn’s favorite recreational activity?

These are just a sampling of general questions a judge might ask. The queries are endless, of course. And the more specialized a child’s life, the more ‘intimate’ the questions. For example, what part does your child sing in the school choir? What position on the basketball team? (Wait! My child is on the basketball team?)

In my case in open court, the judge asked us about insurances and doctors. I was able to rattle off doctors names, my daughter’s dentist, insurance, phone numbers etc. My Ex meanwhile spent that time digging through her purse. The social worker, during my home study, asked me questions about my daughter’s clothes and activities. I could tell from memory, shoe sizes, designs and colors of clothes she liked, names of her friends, activities she was involved in. Not only answering, I showed him dresses out of her closet, and shoes my daughter had grown out of.

How you answer will speak volumes about your involvement in your children’s lives and will go a long way in determining who is named custodial parent.

What other answers should you know about your kids? What kid centric questions have you been asked in court?

About The Author

Fred Campos, aka @FullCustodyDad was custodial full custody parent of his then 4-year-old daughter, Caitlyn. Today she is an adult in college. Fred has re-married with two more boys, runs a web design company and currently serves on the HEBISD local school board. He continues to help good parents in custody struggles and has 15k downloads on his Daddy Got Custody podcast.